With their last fixture against Carmarthen Quins back on December 16th, Llanelli RFC finally played their first home game of this season’s Indigo Group Premiership, launching the brand new kit that will be worn for the 150th anniversary season.
Despite hoping to secure their first win of the season, it was a disappointing result as RGC dominated for the majority of the game.
Prior to kick-off, both teams observed a minute’s silence in memory of Dai ‘Chips’ Jenkins, former Llanelli RFC physiotherapist who sadly passed away just before Christmas.
It was RGC that had the first opportunity for points on the board, but opted to kick for the corner. A further penalty saw them set up the drive towards the line with hooker, Rhodri King in possession to power over the line for the first try. Dion Jones added the extras.
Llanelli 0-7 RGC
The hosts demonstrated plenty of attack as a response, but errors at the breakdown halted any threat and it was the visitors that claimed their second try with Rhys Tudor racing down the wing to cross in the corner. Another great kick from Jones added the conversion.
Llanelli 0-14 RGC
Llanelli responded well with play deep in the RGC twenty-two. After securing a penalty, the hosts opted to kick for the corner, setting up the rolling maul as the forwards powered towards the try line, with hooker, Llew Phillips-Taylor crossing the whitewash for the score. The conversion attempt was just wide.
Llanelli 5-14
From the restart, the visitors secured a penalty and opted to kick for the posts. Dion Jones’ kicking prowess continued as he nailed the kick to extend RGC’s lead.
Llanelli 5-17
Llanelli had the opportunity for a great attacking position following a break in midfield, but were unable to capitalise to add to their tally and it was RGC that further increased their lead with Dion Jones again spot on with the boot as he slotted over his second penalty.
Llanelli 5-20 RGC
Turnover ball in the RGC twenty-two offered the hosts the option to kick for the posts, but they decided instead to kick for the corner. Despite an over-throw at the line-out, it appeared that Ben Leung had crossed for the try, but he was brought down just short. Llanelli recycled the ball well and looked to have crossed for the try but the ball was lost forward over the line. A huge effort from the Llanelli front eight at the scrum secured the penalty and the hosts opted for the simple three points. Llew Smith slotted over the penalty as a just reward for the home side’s efforts.
Llanelli 8-20 RGC
With the first half drawing to a close, RGC were pressing inside the Llanelli twenty-two, but the ball was spilled forward and the hosts attacked from deep, before losing possession as the half ended.
HALF TIME
It was a strong start to the second half from the visitors as they worked through the phases inside Llanelli’s twenty-two. They continued to test the hosts’ defence as they inched towards the try-line before Dan Owen squeezed over from close range. Dion Jones slotted over the easy conversion attempt from in front of the posts.
Llanelli 8-27 RGC
The visitors continued their dominance of the second half as RGC secured the try bonus point with Dion Jones racing over unopposed. He added the conversion to bring his own personal tally to 19 points in a fine display with the boot.
Llanelli 8-34 RCG
Despite a continued wave of attack from RGC, there was certainly no doubting the effort from the young Llanelli team as they ran out of defence before Captain, Jonny Lewis weaved his way through the defence into the RGC half. Disappointingly, simple mistakes cost Llanelli dearly as a clinical RGC further extended their lead as the pace of Zach Clow saw him side-step his way to the whitewash. Dion Jones continued his 100% record with the boot as he slotted over the extras.
Llanelli 8-41 RGC
Another strong run into the Llanelli twenty-two saw the visitors secure a penalty. They opted to kick for the corner before driving for the line. The cheers from the RGC players suggested that try number six had been scored, but a TMO check confirmed that the ball had been held up.
It wasn’t long before the hosts faced another dominant attack from RGC, but manage to secure a penalty.
A further penalty inside the visitors’ half offered an opportunity for a second try, but the line-out was mis-judged. However, they were given a second bite of the cherry as the penalty count against RGC mounted up. It appeared that Llanelli had managed to salvage a score right at the death but the game ended with Llanelli losing by 8 points to 41.
Llanelli (8) 8-41 (20) RGC
T: Llew Phillips-Taylor
P: Llew Smith
T: Rhodri King, Rhys Tudor, Dan Owen, Dion Jones, Zach Clow
C: Dion Jones (5)
P: Dion Jones (2)
Report by Helen Davies
